Don’t kill me, i know this has been asked (new smoker advice)

However opinions change over time and new stuff comes out.

i really need a new smoker. Torn between a pellet and a ceramic kamado. Im familiar with the operation, pros and cons of both. However ive never eaten any finished product from either.

i love to cook everything with my charcoal grill, however my wife HATES deep smoke flavor.

Which cooker would my wife like more. She mostly likes chicken (i know yuck) however we can try more things if they arent so smokey.

Thanks!

 

I’ve owned 2 Traeger and now have a Memphis Woodfire. Get a Green Mountain or a Rec Tec. If there’s a deal on a Traeger at a Costco near you, get that.

I’ve used multiple other smoker/grills and will ALWAYS have a pellet smoker on hand.

 

Your wife will love the results. Chicken breast or other chicken come out moist and tasty without an overbearing smokiness.

 

In my price range, im between GMG and kamado joe classic

 

My buddy has a camp chef with the sear box, he swears by it. You Get the smoker and the hot grill combo

 

The GMG/pellet grill is going to be much easier to use, but a kamado-style grill will be more versatile as far as cooking burgers, steaks, etc.—you'll just have to work at it a little more to keep a consistent smoking temp. That's not to say you can't cook burgers and steaks on a pellet grill, but you won't get a good sear.

 

I like old school, managing fire, my fear is though that i spend 8-900 bucks and then it still tastes too smokey for her? Im assuming kamados taste less smokey due to small fuel usage? Compared to a WSM that burns a ton of charcoal

 

I get a great sear on my pellet grill. That’s a misnomer about pellet grills.

 

The opposite has been true for me. If you get your pellet grill over 250, the smoke flavor is diminished.

 

Ive has my Traeger for 3 years, and I can’t say I’m disappointed.

 

I got a Pit Boss Austin XL found it at Walmart for $350. Best purchase I ever made. I have done brisket, Ribs, jerky, Pork Butt, burgers, steak, pizza, shrimp, veggies in it. I use it at least 3-4 times a week. It even has a plate you can move aside to get the open fire for searing, try that on a overprice Trager. If money is no object for you then get a rec tec.

 

Good friend of mine recommended getting a wifi unit to keep an eye on it if i leave the house( such as the unit shutting off). Im undecided if this feature will just be more tech headache in the future

 

Look into Grilla Grills I have the silverback with competition cart I like it have no problem smoking ribs, chicken shoulder, brisket I even have the steak grill grates Built as tough as a Rectec without the price of a Rectec I have had mine since 2016 now

 

@Hbjeff Have you considered a Santa Maria bbq?

 

I have used both, I prefer the Kamado for flavor and versatility. The downside to the Classic is the amount of space you get vs the pellet and there is a little bit of a learning curve tending a fire. On the Kamado, you could get something like a flameboss to tend the fire, but it sounds like you dont like the extra tech. Hell, I had a friend buy one(used) after using mine just so he could make carne asada with the cast iron half moons. He has a pellet as well, but uses the KJ more now.

 

I have a grilla also. I highly recommend the product.

 

What is your budget in dollars?

I have bubba keg smoker, now called broil king keg. It’s a Komodo style smoker it’s double walled insulated steel. It can be 300 degree and you won’t burn your hand. I had this for 12 years and wanted a simpler choice. I will tell you it’s better than a ceramic, my brother owns a big green egg.

I just purchased Rec tec 700 let me tell you I use it more than the bubba keg. My friend has a Blaz’n pellet smoker.

I don’t have time right this second but I can answer any specific questions.

 

I have the same one. Got it about a year ago and love it. Can get a great sear with it by opening the plate.

 

I just bought the cuisinart twin oaks from Walmart for $547 on clearance. It does everything i need. Pellet smoker, gas grill, side burner and flat griddle. It definitely has less smoke than my old charcoal and wood smoker. I overcome that by smoking on the lowest setting for and hour or 2 before turning it up. That gives me the option of more or less smoke flavor. My girl prefers more smoke. It's very simple to use and I couldn't be more happy with it! I can't comment on a kamado because I've never used one. My girl said it was the best chicken she's ever had!

 

I went from a Traeger to a RecTec.

I like the RecTec much much better, and if something were to happen to it I would go to that brand again. Great quality.

 

I was looking for pics of my seared steaks from a pellet smoker. You beat me to it. I've heard good things about Grilla too.

 

I have a Camp Chef Pellet smoker and Masterbuilt vertical propane smoker. I like both for different reasons. The pellet smoker is easier to run and maintain temp but not a lot of smoke flavor. I like the Masterbuilt because I can control the smoke better but it is harder to maintain the temp and requires more attention.

 

Can confirm this. Recently picked up a Green Mountain Grill and it produces an awesome finished product without being overbearing on smoke. I don't particularly care for a ton of smoke either, but rather more balanced flavor. I've made pork, brisket, and chicken so far with great results. I like the automation of the pellet smokers but have also never used the ceramic styles.

GMG have a good price though when I replace this one (picked it up off of someone's curb because they were getting rid of it), I will likely go with a Traeger or something with some additional features.

 

There are two things I do to increase smoke flavor (on LONG cooks, like brisket, this isn't needed as 12 hours in the smoker will give it plenty of smoke flavor):

1. Use an A-MAZE-N smoke tube (or generic equivalent)
2. Keep temp below 200, for as long as possible

 

I have a Traeger, if you go pellet, GMG has great reviews. I don't have direct experience with GMG, but if I were to get a pellet smoker for the first time, I don't think I would get a Traeger again. What's nice and worth noting is the different option pellets you have to choose from. If your wife doesn't like too smokey of a flavor, definitely don't get hickory/mesquite. I use Alder on salmon and its great. You don't get a smokey flavor in my opinion. It also depends how you're cooking on a smoker, if you cook hot and fast vs low and slow, you wont get as much smokey flavor.

 

I had a GMG for 6 years then sold it to my cousin when i upgraded to a Pitts and Spitts. 1 person mentioned he would buy something with more options than the 1 he got off 1 guys curb. Since you are buying new, you can get GMG with every feature you want these days.

The thing about the pellets is you have so much versatility. Perfect if your lady doesnt want too smoky, and its easy to add a smoke tube if youre wanting more smoke. As an added note GMG by far has the best customer service. Just make sure you register it when you buy it.

 

I went with the RecTeq Bull. 6 year warranty, great for slow cooks but it can crank out the heat if needed. I got the Bulleye to go along with it for fast cooks and a good sear.

 

I've had a Traeger Lil Tex Elite for close to 10 years now. it is the definition of set-it-and-forget-it. Think of this as playing a game on "easy mode". You are going to have some fun, meat is going to taste great.

I got a Large Big Green Egg about 4 years ago. I would compare it to a temperamental child. You have to pay attention to it, if you don't it will take off on you and all hell breaks loose. Think about this as playing a game on "med/hard mode". Once you get it figured out, ohh man...delish.
I don't what to make it seem like I'm bashing the the BGE in any way, it my go to grill for 95% of my BBQing.

Here are some items to think about:
Start/Stop Process, Temperature Control, Versatility, Cooking Space, Cooking Time, Smoke vs Cook, Consumables, Searing Meat, Wife-factor, Cool Factor
(All the information below is what I've come to learn over the years, YMMV)


Start/Stop: You always have to start and stop the Traeger with the lid open. If you shut it down with the lid closed, the fire will creep through the auger and into the hopper and bad things happen. That's about it, not the end of the world, but 2 things you have to remember. On the BGE you have to build your fire depending on how/what you will be cooking. I've used organic fire starting cubes (sawdust and paraffin) an electric starter, and a propane torch. The electric starter made the most even coals because you jam it in the bottom of the coals. If I'm doing a brisket/pork butt i use the cubes because you want a very small coal pad or you'll never hit your temp. 90% of the time i use the JJGeorge torch for about 45-60 sec to establish a small fire and let it sit with the lid open for about 5min.
Temperature Control: Traeger wins hands down, set it and forget it. The BGE has a slider intake on the bottom (gas pedal) and a daisy wheel (brake pedal) and the daisy wheel swings fully open (supercharger). You don't want to be mashing the gas pedal and apply the brakes burnrubber. You have to have the intake and exhaust correct or your will have a hard time hitting your target temp. If you need to get it HOT and fast slide the daisy wheel open and the temp will go to the moon. when i do a long low smoke, i have the intake open about 1/4" and the top mostly open....just coasting.

Versatility: Traeger is great on smoke at around 175-185 and can get it up to about 425deg. I've cooked bread, cookies, bacon, cheese (using a cold smoke box) and just about every type of meat and seafood there is on the Traeger. I've baked in it when its hot out and didn't want to use the oven (more on this later). The BGE can get to just about any temperature you want if you know how to control your fire. Its tough to get it to stay around the 160-180 are, but its doable. Lots of factors (ambient temperature, wind...) start to come into play when you are trying to stay low. I've had my BGE up around the 7-800 mark for making pizza (i wouldn't recommend it, no need to cook pizza that hot, leave that to the Italian pizza restaurants where cook time matters). I've cooked artisan bread and almost every meat and seafood on it.

Cooking Space: If you host a lot of people and need to cook a shit ton of food, the Traeger has the BGE beat hands down. Unless you want to get an XL BGE (that thing uses 4x the lump a large does) the Traeger has the BGE beat hands down. Since the Traeger is forced convection, it is mostly (there are hot spots along the front/back) uniform heat throughout the barrel so you can use every inch of grill space. The BGE does not have the same usable space the Traeger does. By design the BGE uses the egg shape to convect heat throughout in a barrel-roll fashion, but a circle isn't really a good shape for fitting the most food on the grate. There's a brand called Primo that makes a ceramic grill like the BGE but is a oval. If you are looking into a ceramic, i would also go look at Primo strongly if you cook a lot of food at once.

Cooking Time: When i cook a tri tip on the Traeger, i would set it on smoke for 45m-1h and then up to 275 to finish it off till the internal hits about 125. Takes a little bit of time, so you have to plan your eating time accordingly. The BGE cooks/smokes at the same time, so cooking time is reduced.

Smoke vs Cook: The only time you get the smoke flavor on the Traeger is when its on smoke setting. The pellets just smolder in the fire box and you get that nice thin blue smoke. When you turn it past 200deg the pellets catch fire and you don't get any smoke flavor (maybe a little, but not much at all). Once you get around 275+ you might as well be using the oven because that's what it basically turned into. On the BGE the lump charcoal will have flavor in it depending on what wood its made of and will impart flavor no matter what temperature you are using. You will get more smoke flavor at low temperature, less on hot. The Traeger 100% of the time uses indirect cooking (not necessarily a bad thing unless you want to sear...more on that later). the big green egg comes with a Plate Setter (basically a ceramic plate with feet) that you can use to make it indirect or direct cooking.

Consumables: When I bought my Traeger, it states that you have to use Traeger brand pellets. There weren't many stores that carried Traeger pellets (or any brand for that matter). You could only find the pellets at boutique BBQ shops, so i would team up with my dad and brother (all bought Traeger's around the same time) and we would get a good deal buying 15-20 20lb bags and storing them. Its a LOT easier now. Costco sells them for the best price if you are fine with their Pitmasters Blend, Home Depot has a good variety also. I've tried different flavor pellets and to me (YMMV) they all taste the same. I had read in the past that Traeger's pellets are 80% filler (alder wood) and the rest is the flavor wood that's on the bag. I've used other branded pellets and they all work great. Just don't use pellet-stove pellets! The BGE uses lump charcoal (DONT USE BRIQUETTES) and smoking wood chunks. The smoke flavor is much more complex tasting than the Traeger. I really like the flavor of orange wood lump charcoal and plumb smoking chunks (great combo). You can get Royal Oak at Home Depot and it has a very mild smoke flavor but I've noticed it gets hot easier, so i keep that around as a backup. Sam's Club sells Vision lump, but I'm not a big fan, not sure what kind of wood they use but it has an extremely strong flavor. If I'm in a pinch, I'll blend Vision with Royal. BGE makes their own lump and its the best quality (consistent size) and flavor I've come across, but its dummy expensive. I've read that the Primo brand is made by BGE and is much cheaper. Lazarri and Jealous Devil are what I'm using right now. Find a couple bbq shops near by that sell lump so you aren't stuck with what you can find at the big box stores.

Searing: if you have to have the perfect seared grill marks (or any grill marks) on your steak, the Traeger is not the grill you are looking for. You can crank the Traeger on high and lightly sear/caramelize the outside, but that's not really searing. No real way to sear a steak on the Traeger. I usually cook my steaks on the BGE using a Reverse Sear method. You fully cook/smoke on a low temperature, pull them off and build your fire hot, then put it back on for a good sear. Its amazing how much of a flavor the sear adds to the meat. BGE wins hands down. There may be some accessories you can add to the Traeger to put a searing plate directly over the firebox, but seemed like too much of a hassle.

Wife Factor: If your wife hates the deep smoke flavor i would lean towards the Traeger. You could put your meat on the Traeger to smoke and put hers on once you are done smoking your meat and cook them both at the same time. You can accomplish the same thing on the egg, but you will impart some sort of wood smoke flavor in it (i wouldn't call it deep smoke, but surface).

Cool Factor: Big Green Egg for-the-win!

That ended up being longer than i though......

Obligatory bbq porn (Trager says on the left of the kitchen):

 

Not sure how wood pellets will have less smoke than charcoal.

IMO, you cant beat an Webber Rocky Mountain Smoker. Simple. Multiple fuel options. Low cost. Been around a long time. Does not require electricity or have any electronics to fail.